All was going so well until...

[youpers]

Hi all,

So I am just finishing an LS swap into my 71' I purchased earlier this year (in boxes) and went to test and tune when I noticed a strange grinding sound, which happened while moving or with t case in neutral, meaning something wrong in the t case. So after pulling the rear cover off I noticed one of the bearings was toast. Funny thing is though, after taking the case apart and looking through it I cant seem to find the rest of this bearing, suspicious. Good news is the gears themselves don't seem to be effected so a simple rebuild should resolve the entire issue. I'll post some before pictures in another post.

 

[youpers]

before pictures:

 

[peesalot]

Check that crack at upper boss to be sure it stops, looks to be a non issue but why'd it crack ?
Be sure to leave the weep hole open, most people silicone the rear cover on and plug the weep hole.
Was the bottom of case full of silver dust ? Check the ID of the output gear bushing against the OD where it rides on shaft, check at both ends and in the middle, they tend to hour glass, IIRC you want 3 thou or less. As to the missing balls, thats curious ?

 

[youpers]

Check that crack at upper boss to be sure it stops, looks to be a non issue but why'd it crack ?
Be sure to leave the weep hole open, most people silicone the rear cover on and plug the weep hole.
Was the bottom of case full of silver dust ? Check the ID of the output gear bushing against the OD where it rides on shaft, check at both ends and in the middle, they tend to hour glass, IIRC you want 3 thou or less. As to the missing balls, thats curious ?

Thanks for the advice. The upper boss isnt cracked but rather looks cut for some reason. And yes the rear cover was siliconed on, I'll make sure to mind the weep hole. The oil was kinda bedazzled but not horrible, I've seen worse. I'll check the bushings but I plan on replacing them anyway. And yes the missing balls is very curious.

 

[fyton2v]

Except for the transfer case part ... it's purdy.

 

[EWheeler]

Truck looks great!

 

[pjohnson]

Opportunity to swap in a stronger split case...

 

[Slapshot]

I’d love to put a LS into mine. Looks like a clean install. That color is awesome.

 

[Living in the Past]

Really didn't say if you rebuilt the transfer case or it it was still attached to the transmission when you got the 71? Did you rebuilt it of did you just install it as a combo? I know nothing about V8 and automatic conversion but thought the transmission to transfer case adapters only had short output shafts.

 

[youpers]

Really didn't say if you rebuilt the transfer case or it it was still attached to the transmission when you got the 71? Did you rebuilt it of did you just install it as a combo? I know nothing about V8 and automatic conversion but thought the transmission to transfer case adapters only had short output shafts.

Never rebuilt the t case. assumed it was fine. The car had a small block chevy with a th350 and an AA adapter to the stock 3sp t case when I got it. The adapter uses a housing between the trans and t case with a spud shaft in it. Its not a bad conversion, but I suspect maybe it was installed with preload against the bearing in the t case which led to its premature failure.

I never assumed there was anything wrong, and I only really wanted to swap the old 350 ouut with a newer EFI chevy LS and really wanted to avoid opening up the t case if I didn't have to. Its not an issue to rebuild the t case, I just didn't want to if I didn't have to. I already had to do a lot more to the vehicle than I had anticipated when I first imagined buying this car. Not complaining but it has been fun, but at the cost of hijacking my time and attention from other projects, which there are many.

 

[youpers]

I’d love to put a LS into mine. Looks like a clean install. That color is awesome.

Thanks, the color was based on Cadet blue.

 

[peesalot]

FYI, as far as I know that bushing is not available and the shafts are sometimes not reusable, the output shafts are available I think.

 

[pygpen]

I don't think that bearing is missing any balls, I think the cage that keeps them evenly spaced is missing.

 

[youpers]

I don't think that bearing is missing any balls, I think the cage that keeps them evenly spaced is missing.

You may be right cause I found some of the cage piled up in the rear cover. Nevertheless its all buttoned up and rebuilt so now its on to other things, like a leaking radiator and a misfire due to a bad plug wire, and lastly some odd metallic clank from the passenger side immediately after letting off the gas. Hopefully finished up by this summer so I can use it!